OF  ME  GOLDEN 


The  King  of  the  Golden 
River 


The  Editha  Series 

For  Little  Girls 
NEW  EDITION,  J907 


1  Editha's  Burglar  1  8  Jackanapes 

By  Burnett  By  J.  H.  Ewing 

2  Pinocchio's  Adventure*  19  Aiice  in  Wonderland 

3  Burglar's  Daughter  By  Carroll 

By  Penrose  2Q  Rab  and  Hig  Friends 

4  Tamed  By  Dr.  John  Brown 

By  W.  O.  Stoddard 

5  Peggy's  Trial  21  Through  a  Looking-GIass 

By  Mary  Knight  Potter 

6  The  Little  Professor  22  The    King  of  the   Golden 

By  Ida  Horton  Cash  River 

7  A  Child's  Garden  of  Verses  B?  John  Rusk!n 

By  Stevenson  23  Snap-Dragons    and    Other 

8  Little  Rosebud  Stories 

By  Harraden  By  J.  H.  Ewing 

10  The  Golden  Apple  24  Madame  Liberality 

By  Hawthorne  By  J.  H.  Ewing 

12  Hop   o'    My    Thumb    and  25  Millicent  in  Dreamland 

Other  Stories  •    By  Edna  S.  Brainerd 

By  Miss  Mulock  2g  F,ower  Fableg 

13  Adventures  of  a  Brownie  By  Louise  M.  Alcott 

By  Miss  Mulock  .     ,  01            „  „ 

i  A  XI,-  P^«.  27  Legend  of  Sleepy  Hollow 

The  Pygm,e,  By  Washington  Irving 


15  The  Brownies  28  Uves  of  Two  Cats 

By  Ewing  By  Pierre  Lotl 

16  Cuckoo  Clock  29  Wonder  Box  Tales 

By  Molesworth  BV  Jean  Ingelow 

17  The  Sleeping  Beauty  30  Boss  and  Other  Dogs 

By  Martha  Baker  Dunn  By  Maria  L.  Pool 


H.  M.  CALDWELL  COMPANY 

Publishers 
NEW  YORK  AND  BOSTON 


PROFESSOR  JOHN  E.USKIN,  M.A. 


E    D     I     T    H    A        SERIES 


HE  R]  NG 


OF       HE 


GOLDEN 


R    VER 


By 
JOHN     RUSKIN 


ILLUSTRATED 


H.  M.  C  A  L  D  W  E  L  L  CO. 
PUBLISHERS  ^  -^  ^ 
NEAV  YORK  (a  BOSTON 


Copyright,  1906 
BY  H.  M.  CALDWELL  Co. 


Contents 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  How  THE  AGRICULTURAL  SYS- 
TEM OF  THE  BLACK  BROTH- 
ERS WAS  INTERFERED  WITH 
BY  SOUTHWEST  WIND,  ES- 
QUIRE   9 

II.  OF  THE  PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE 
THREE  BROTHERS  AFTER 
THE  VISIT  OF  SOUTHWEST 
WIND,  ESQUIRE  ;  AND  How 
LITTLE  GLUCK  HAD  AN  IN- 
TERVIEW WITH  THE  KING 
OF  THE  GOLDEN  RIVER  .  35 

III.  How  MR.  HANS  SET    OFF  ON 

AN  EXPEDITION  TO  THE 
GOLDEN  RIVER,  AND  How 
HE  PROSPERED  THEREIN  .  51 

IV.  How  MR.  SCHWARTZ  SET  OFF 

ON  AN  EXPEDITION  TO  THE 
GOLDEN  RIVER,  AND  How 
HE  PROSPERED  THEREIN  .  65 


£H  Contents 

KAPTBR  PAGE 

V.  How  LITTLE  GLUCK  SET  OFF 
ON  AN  EXPEDITION  TO  THE 
GOLDEN  RIVER,  AND  How 
HE  PROSPERED  THEREIN  ; 
WITH  OTHER  MATTERS  OF 
INTEREST  .  .  .  .72 


The  King  of  the  Golden 
River 

CHAPTER   I. 

How  THE  AGRICULTURAL  SYSTEM  OF 
THE  BLACK  BROTHERS  WAS  INTER- 
FERED WITH  BY  SOUTHWEST  WIND, 
ESQUIRE 

TN  a  secluded  and  mountainous  part 
of  Stiria  there  was,  in  old  time, 
a  valley  of  the  most  surprising 
and  luxuriant  fertility.  It  was  sur- 
rounded, on  all  sides,  by  steep  and 
rocky  mountains,  rising  into  peaks, 
which  were  always  covered  with  snow, 
and  from  which  a  number  of  torrents 
descended  in  constant  cataracts.  One 
9 


•SH  The  King  of 

of  these  fell  westward,  over  the  face 
of  a  crag  so  high,  that,  when  the  sun 
had  set  to  everything  else,  and  all  below 
was  darkness,  his  beams  still  shone  full 
upon  this  waterfall,  so  that  it  looked 
like  a  shower  of  gold.  It  was,  there- 
fore, called,  by  the  people  of  the  neigh- 
bourhood, the  Golden  River.  It  was 
strange  that  none  of  these  streams  fell 
into  the  valley  itself.  They  all  de- 
scended on  the  other  side  of  the  moun- 
tains, and  wound  away  through  broad 
plains  and  by  popular  cities.  But  the 
clouds  were  drawn  so  constantly  to  the 
snowy  hills,  and  rested  so  softly  in  the 
circular  hollow,  that  in  time  of  drought 
and  heat,  when  all  the  country  round 
was  burnt  up,  there  was  still  rain  in 
the  little  valley;  and  its  crops  were 
so  heavy,  and  its  hay  so  high,  and  its 


the  Golden   River  H£ 

apples  so  red,  and  its  grapes  so  blue,  and 
its  wine  so  rich,  and  its  honey  so  sweet, 
that  it  was  a  marvel  to  every  one  who 
beheld  it,  and  was  commonly  called 
the  Treasure  Valley. 

The  whole  of  this  little  valley 
belonged  to  three  brothers,  called 
Schwartz,  Hans,  and  Gluck.  Schwartz 
and  Hans,  the  two  elder  brothers,  were 
very  ugly  men,  with  overhanging  eye- 
brows and  small  dull  eyes,  which  were 
always  half  shut,  so  that  you  couldn't 
see  into  them,  and  always  fancied  they 
saw  very  far  into  you.  They  lived  by 
farming  the  Treasure  Valley,  and  very 
good  farmers  they  were.  They  killed 
everything  that  did  not  pay  for  its  eat- 
ing. They  shot  the  blackbirds,  because 
they  pecked  the  fruit ;  and  killed  the 
hedgehogs,  lest  they  should  suck  the 
ii 


3HThe  King  of 

cows;  they  poisoned  the  crickets  for 
eating  the  crumbs  in  the  kitchen;  and 
smothered  the  cicadas,  which  used  to 
sing  all  summer  in  the  lime-trees.  They 
worked  their  servants  without  any 
wages,  till  they  would  not  work  any 
more,  and  then  quarrelled  with  them, 
and  turned  them  out-of-doors  without 
paying  them.  It  would  have  been  very 
odd,  if  with  such  a  farm,  and  such  a 
system  of  farming,  they  hadn't  got  very 
rich ;  and  very  rich  they  did  get.  They 
generally  contrived  to  keep  their  corn 
by  them  till  it  was  very  dear,  and  then 
sell  it  for  twice  its  value;  they  had 
heaps  of  gold  lying  about  on  their 
floors,  yet  it  was  never  known  that  they 
had  given  so  much  as  a  penny  or  a 
crust  in  charity;  they  never  went  to 
mass;  grumbled  perpetually  at  paying 

12 


the  Golden  River  H£ 

tithes;  and  were,  in  a  word,  of  so 
cruel  and  grinding  a  temper,  as  to  re- 
ceive from  all  those  with  whom  they 
had  any  dealings,  the  nickname  of  the 
"Black  Brothers." 

The  youngest  brother,  Gluck,  was  as 
completely  opposed,  in  both  appearance 
and  character,  to  his  seniors  as  could 
possibly  be  imagined  or  desired.  He 
was  not  above  twelve  years  old,  fair, 
blue-eyed,  and  kind  in  temper  to  every 
living  thing.  He  did  not,  of  course, 
agree  particularly  well  with  his 
brothers,  or  rather,  they  did  not  agree 
with  him.  He  was  usually  appointed 
to  the  honourable  office  of  turnspit, 
when  there  was  anything  to  roast, 
which  was  not  often;  for,  to  do  the 
brothers  justice,  they  were  hardly  less 
sparing  upon  themselves  than  upon 


•SH  The  King  of 

other  people.  At  other  times  he  used 
to  clean  the  shoes,  floors,  and  some- 
times the  plates,  occasionally  getting 
what  was  left  on.  them,  by  way  of  en- 
couragement, and  a  wholesome  quantity 
of  dry  blows,  by  way  of  education. 

Things  went  on  in  this  manner  for 
a  long  time.  At  last  came  a  very  wet 
summer,  and  everything  went  wrong 
in  the  country  around.  The  hay  had 
hardly  been  got  in,  when  the  hay- 
stacks were  floated  bodily  down  to  the 
sea  by  an  inundation;  the  vines  were 
cut  to  pieces  with  the  hail;  the  corn 
was  all  killed  by  a  black  blight;  only 
in  the  Treasure  Valley,  as  usual,  all 
was  safe.  As  it  had  rain  when  there 
was  rain  nowhere  else,  so  it  had  sun 
when  there  was  sun  nowhere  else. 
Everybody  came  to  buy  corn  at  the 
14 


the  Golden  River  H£ 

farm,  and  went  away  pouring  male- 
dictions on  the  Black  Brothers.  They 
asked  what  they  liked,  and  got  it,  ex- 
cept from  the  poor  people,  who  could 
only  beg,  and  several  of  whom  were 
starved  at  their  very  door,  without  the 
slightest  regard  or  notice. 

It  was  drawing  toward  winter,  and 
very  cold  weather,  when  one  day  the 
two  elder  brothers  had  gone  out,  with 
their  usual  warning  to  little  Gluck, 
who  was  left  to  mind  the  roast,  that 
he  was  to  let  nobody  in,  and  give  noth- 
ing out.  Gluck  sat  down  quite  close 
to  the  fire,  for  it  was  raining  very  hard, 
and  the  kitchen  walls  were  by  no  means 
dry  or  comfortable  looking.  He 
turned  and  turned,  and  the  roast  got 
nice  and  brown.  "  What  a  pity," 
thought  Gluck,  "  my  brothers  never  ask 

'5 


3N  The  King  of 

anybody  to  dinner.  I'm  sure,  when 
they've  got  such  a  nice  piece  of  mut- 
ton as  this,  and  nobody  else  has  got  so 
much  as  a  piece  of  dry  bread,  it  would 
do  their  hearts  good  to  have  somebody 
to  eat  it  with  them." 

Just  as  he  spoke,  there  came  a  double 
knock  at  the  house  door,  yet  heavy  and 
dull,  as  though  the  knocker  had  been 
tied  up  —  more  like  a  puff  than  a 
knock. 

"  It  must  be  the  wind,"  said  Gluck ; 
"  nobody  else  would  venture  to  knock 
double  knocks  at  our  door." 

No;  it  wasn't  the  wind:  there  it 
came  again  very  hard,  and  what  was 
particularly  astounding,  the  knocker 
seemed  to  be  in  a  hurry,  and  not  to  be 
in  the  least  afraid  of  the  consequences. 
Gluck  went  to  the  window,  opened  it, 
16 


the  Golden  River  H£ 

and   put  his   head   out   to  see  who   it 

was. 

It  was  the  most  extraordinary-look- 
ing little  gentleman  he  had  ever  seen  in 
his  life.  He  had  a  very  large  nose, 
slightly  brass-coloured;  his  cheeks  were 
very  round,  and  very  red,  and  might 
have  warranted  a  supposition  that  he 
had  been  blowing  a  refractory  fire  for 
the  last  eight  and  forty  hours;  his  eyes 
twinkled  merrily  through  long  silky 
eyelashes,  his  moustaches  curled  twice 
round  like  a  corkscrew  on  each  side  of 
his  mouth,  and  his  hair,  of  a  curious 
mixed  pepper-and-salt  colour,  descended 
far  over  his  shoulders.  He  was  about 
four  feet  six  in  height,  and  wore,  a 
conical-pointed  cap  of  nearly  the  same 
altitude,  decorated  with  a  black  feather 
some  three  feet  long.  His  doublet  was 


•SH  The  King  of 

prolonged  into  something  resembling  a 
violent  exaggeration  of  what  is  now 
termed  a  "  swallowtail,"  but  was 
much  obscured  by  the  swelling  folds 
of  an  enormous  black,  glossy-looking 
cloak,  which  must  have  been  very  much 
too  long  in  calm  weather,  as  the  wind, 
whistling  round  the  old  house,  carried 
it  clear  out  from  the  wearer's  shoulders 
to  about  four  times  his  own  length. 

Gluck  was  so  perfectly  paralyzed  by 
the  singular  appearance  of  his  visitor, 
that  he  remained  fixed,  without  utter- 
ing a  word,  until  the  old  gentleman, 
having  performed  another,  and  a  more 
energetic  concerto  on  the  knocker, 
turned  round  to  look  after  his  flyaway 
cloak.  In  so  doing  he  caught  sight  of 
Gluck's  little  yellow  head  jammed  in 


18 


• 

4*  - 

the  Golden  River  H£ 

the  window,  with  its  mouth  and  eyes 
very  wide  open  indeed. 

"  Hollo !  "  said  the  little  gentleman, 
"  that's  not  the  way  to  answer  the  door : 
I'm  wet,  let  me  in." 

To  do  the  little  gentleman  justice,  he 
was  wet.  His  feather  hung  down  be- 
tween his  legs  like  a  beaten  puppy's 
tail,  dripping  like  an  umbrella;  and 
from  the  ends  of  his  moustaches  the 
water  was  running  into  his  waistcoat 
pockets,  and  out  again  like  a  mill- 
stream. 

"  I  beg  pardon,  sir,"  said  Gluck, 
"  I'm  very  sorry,  but  I  really  can't." 

"  Can't  what !  "  said  the  old  gentle- 
man. 

"  I  can't  let  you  in,  sir  —  I  can't 
indeed;  my  brothers  would  beat  me  to 


King  of 


death,  sir,  if  I  thought  of  such  a  thing. 
What  do  you  want,  sir?" 

"Want?"  said  the  old  gentleman, 
petulantly.  "I  want  fire,  and  shelter; 
and  there's  your  great  fire  there  blazing, 
crackling,  and  dancing  on  the  walls, 
with  nobody  to  feel  if.  Let  me  in,  I 
say;  I  only  want  to  warm  myself." 

Gluck  had  had  his  head,  by  this 
time,  so  long  out  of  the  window,  that 
he  began  to  feel  it  was  really  unpleas- 
antly cold,  and  when  he  turned,  and 
saw  the  beautiful  fire  rustling  and  roar- 
ing, and  throwing  long  bright  tongues 
up  the  chimney,  as  if  it  were  licking 
its  chops  at  the  savoury  smell  of  the  leg 
of  mutton,  his  heart  melted  within  him 
that  it  should  be  burning  away  for 
nothing.  "  He  does  look  very  wet," 
said  little  Gluck;  "I'll  just  let  him 


the  Golden  River  HS- 

in  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour."  Round 
he  went  to  the  door,  and  opened  it; 
and  as  the  little  gentleman  walked  in, 
there  came  a  gust  of  wind  through  the 
house,  that  made  the  old  chimneys 
totter. 

"  That's  a  good  boy,"  said  the  lit- 
tle gentleman.  "  Never  mind  your 
brothers.  I'll  talk  to  them." 

"  Pray,  sir,  don't  do  any  such  thing," 
said  Gluck.  "  I  can't  let  you  stay  till 
they  come;  they'd  be  the  death  of 
me." 

"  Dear  me,"  said  the  old  gentleman, 
"  I'm  very  sorry  to  hear  that.  How 
long  may  I  stay?  " 

"  Only  till  the  mutton's  done,  sir," 
replied  Gluck,  "  and  it's  very  brown." 

Then  the  old  gentleman  walked  into 
the  kitchen,  and  sat  himself  down  on  the 


^4  The  King  of 

hob,  with  the  top  of  his  cap  accom- 
modated up  the  chimney,  for  it  was  a 
great  deal  too  high  for  the  roof. 

"  You'll  soon  dry  there,  sir,"  said 
Gluck,  and  sat  down  again  to  turn  the 
mutton.  But  the  old  gentleman  did 
not  dry  there,  but  went  on  drip,  drip, 
dripping  among  the  cinders,  and  the  fire 
fizzed,  and  sputtered,  and  began  to  look 
very  black,  and  uncomfortable:  never 
was  such  a  cloak;  every  fold  in  it  ran 
like  a  gutter. 

"  I  beg  pardon,  sir,"  said  Gluck,  at 
length,  after  watching  the  water  spread- 
ing in  long,  quicksilver-like  streams  over 
the  floor  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour; 
"mayn't  I  take  your  cloak?" 

"  No,  thank  you,"  said  the  old  gen- 
tleman. 

"Your  cap,  sir?" 

22 


the  Golden  River  ^ 

"  I  am  all  right,  thank  you,"  said  the 
old  gentleman,  rather  gruffly. 

"  But  —  sir  —  I'm  very  sorry,"  said 
Gluck,  hesitatingly ;  "  but  —  really, 
sir  —  you're  —  putting  the  fire  out." 

"  It'll  take  longer  to  do  the  mutton, 
then,"  replied  his  visitor,  dryly. 

Gluck  was  very  much  puzzled  by 
the  behaviour  of  his  guest;  it  was  such 
a  strange  mixture  of  coolness  and  humil- 
ity. He  turned  away  at  the  string 
meditatively  for  another  five  minutes. 

"  That  mutton  looks  very  nice,"  said 
the  old  gentleman,  at  length.  "  Can't 
you  give  me  a  little  bit?" 

"  Impossible,  sir,"  said  Gluck. 

"  I'm  very  hungry,"  continued  the  old 

gentleman:    "I've   had   nothing  to  eat 

yesterday,     nor    to-day.       They    surely 

couldn't  miss  a  bit  from  the  knuckle !  " 

23 


•SH  The  King  of 

He  spoke  in  so  very  melancholy  a 
tone,  that  it  quite  melted  Gluck's  heart. 
"  They  promised  me  one  slice  to-day, 
sir,"  said  he;  "  I  can  give  you  that,  but 
not  a  bit  more." 

"  That's  a  good  boy,"  said  the  old 
gentleman  again. 

Then  Gluck  warmed  a  plate,  and 
sharpened  a  knife.  "  I  don't  care  if  I 
do  get  beaten  for  it,"  thought  he.  Just 
as  he  had  cut  a  large  slice  out  of  the 
mutton,  there  came  a  tremendous  rap 
at  the  door.  The  old  gentleman 
jumped  off  the  hob,  as  if  it  had  sud- 
denly become  inconveniently  warm. 
Gluck  fitted  the  slice  into  the  mutton 
again,  with  desperate  efforts  at  exacti- 
tude, and  ran  to  open  the  door. 

"  What  did  you  keep  us  waiting  in 
the  rain  for?"  said  Schwartz,  as  he 
24 


the  Golden  River  H£ 

walked  in,  throwing  his  umbrella  in 
Gluck's  face.  "Ay!  what  for,  indeed, 
you  little  vagabond?"  said  Hans,  ad- 
ministering an  educational  box  on  the 
ear,  as  he  followed  his  brother  into 
the  kitchen. 

"  Bless  my  soul !  "  said  Schwartz, 
when  he  opened  the  door. 

"  Amen,"  said  the  little  gentleman, 
who  had  taken  his  cap  off,  and  was 
standing  in  the  middle  of  the  kitchen, 
bowing  with  the  utmost  possible 
velocity. 

"Who's  that?"  said  Schwartz, 
catching  up  a  rolling-pin,  and  turning 
to  Gluck,  with  a  fierce  frown. 

"  I  don't  know,  indeed,  brother," 
said  Gluck,  in  great  terror. 

"How  did  he  get  in?"  roared 
Schwartz. 

25 


•SHThe  King  of 

"  My  dear  brother,"  said  Gluck,  dep- 
recatingly,  "  he  was  so  very  wet!  " 

The  rolling-pin  was  descending  on 
Gluck's  head;  but,  at  the  instant,  the 
old  gentleman  interposed  his  conical 
cap,  on  which  it  crashed  with  a  shock 
that  shook  the  water  out  of  it  all  over 
the  room.  What  was  very  odd,  the 
rolling-pin  no  sooner  touched  the  cap, 
than  it  flew  out  of  Schwartz's  hand, 
spinning  like  a  straw  in  a  high  wind, 
and  fell  into  the  corner  at  the  further 
end  of  the  room. 

"Who  are  you,  sir?"  demanded 
Schwartz,  turning  upon  him. 

"What's  your  business?"  snarled 
Hans. 

"  I'm  a  poor  old  man,  sir,"  the  little 
gentleman  began  very  modestly,  "  and  I 
saw  your  fire  through  the  window,  and 
26 


the  Golden   River  HS 

begged    shelter    for    a    quarter    of    an 
hour." 

"  Have  the  goodness  to  walk  out 
again,  then,"  said  Schwartz.  "  We've 
quite  enough  water  in  our  kitchen,  with- 
out making  it  a  drying-house." 

"  It  is  a  cold  day  to  turn  an  old  man 
out  in,  sir;  look  at  my  gray  hairs." 
They  hung  down  to-  his  shoulders,  as 
I  told  you  before. 

"Ay!"  said  Hans,  "there  are 
enough  of  them  to  keep  you  warm. 
Walk!" 

"  I'm  very,  very  hungry,  sir;  couldn't 
you  spare  me  a  bit  of  bread  before  I 
go?" 

"Bread,    indeed!"     said    Schwartz; 
"  do  you  suppose  we've  nothing  to  do 
with  our  bread,  but  to  give  it  to  such 
red-nosed    fellows   as  you  ?  " 
27 


3HThe  King  of 

"  Why  don't  you  sell  your  feather?  " 
said  Hans,  sneeringly.  "  Out  with 
you." 

"A  little  bit,"  said  the  old  gentle- 
man. 

"Be  off!"    said  Schwartz. 

"Pray,   gentlemen." 

"Off,  and  be  hanged!"  c  led  Hans, 
seizing  him  by  the  collar.  But  he  had 
no  sooner  touched  the  old  gentleman's 
collar,  than  away  he  went  after  the  roll- 
ing-pin, spinning  round  and  round,  till 
he  fell  into  the  corner  on  the  top  of  it. 
Then  Schwartz  was  very  angry,  and  ran 
at  the  old  gentleman  to  turn  him  out; 
but  he  also  had  hardly  touched  him, 
when  away  he  went  after  Hans  and  the 
rolling-pin,  and  hit  his  head  against  the 
wall  as  he  tumbled  into  the  corner. 
And  so  there  they  lay,  all  three. 
28 


the  Golden    River  H3- 

Then  the  old  gentleman  spun  him- 
self round  with  velocity  in  the  opposite 
direction;  continued  to  spin  until  his 
long  cloak  was  all  wound  neatly  about 
him ;  clapped  his  cap  on  his  head,  very 
much  on  one  side  (for  it  could  not 
stand  upright  without  going  through 
the  ceiling),  gave  an  additional  twist  to 
his  corkscrew  moustaches,  and  replied, 
with  perfect  coolness:  "Gentlemen,  I 
wish  you  a  very  good  morning.  At 
twelve  o'clock  to-night  I'll  call  again; 
after  such  a  refusal  of  hospitality  as  I 
have  just  experienced,  you  will  not  be 
surprised  if  that  visit  is  the  last  I  ever 
pay  you." 

"If  I  ever  catch  you  here  again," 
muttered  Schwartz,  coming,  half-fright- 
ened, out  of  the  corner  —  but,  before 
he  could  finish  his  sentence,  the  old  gen- 
29 


3H  The  King  of 

tleman  had  shut  the  house  door  behind 
him  with  a  great  bang:  and  there 
drove  past  the  window,  at  the  same  in- 
stant, a  wreath  of  ragged  cloud,  that 
whirled  and  rolled  away  down  the  val- 
ley in  all  manner  of  shapes;  turning 
over  and  over  in  the  air;  and  melting 
away  at  last  in  a  gush  of  rain. 

"  A  very  pretty  business,  indeed,  Mr. 
Gluck!"  said  Schwartz.  "Dish  the 
mutton,  sir.  If  ever  I  catch  you  at 
such  a  trick  again  —  bless  me,  why  the 
mutton's  been  cut!  " 

"  You  promised  me  one  slice,  brother, 
you  know,"  said  Gluck. 

"  Oh !  and  you  were  cutting  it  hot, 
I  suppose,  and  going  to  catch  all  the 
gravy.  It'll  be  long  before  I  promise 
you  such  a  thing  again.  Leave  the 


the  Golden  River  H£ 

room,  sir;  and  have  the  kindness  to 
wait  in  the  coal-cellar  till  I  call  you." 

Gluck  left  the  room  melancholy 
enough.  The  brothers  ate  as  much 
mutton  as  they  could,  locked  the  rest 
in  the  cupboard,  and  proceeded  to  get 
very  drunk  after  dinner. 

Such  a  night  as  it  was!  Howling 
wind,  and  rushing  rain,  without  inter- 
mission. The  brothers  had  just  sense 
enough  left  to  put  up  all  the  shutters, 
and  double-bar  the  door,  before  they 
went  to  bed.  They  usually  slept  in  the 
same  room.  As  the  clock  struck  twelve, 
they  were  both  awakened  by  a  tremen- 
dous crash.  Their  door  burst  open 
with  a  violence  that  shook  the  house 
from  top  to  bottom. 

"What's  that?"  cried  Schwartz, 
starting  up  in  his  bed. 


King  of 


"  Only  I,"  said  the  little  gentle- 
man. 

The  two  brothers  sat  up  on  their 
bolster,  and  stared  into  the  darkness. 
The  room  was  full  of  water,  and  by  a 
misty  moonbeam,  which  found  its  way 
through  a  hole  in  the  shutter,  they  could 
see  in  the  midst  of  it  an  enormous  foam 
globe,  spinning  round,  and  bobbing  up 
and  down  like  a  cork,  on  which,  as  on 
a  most  luxurious  cushion,  reclined  the 
little  old  gentleman,  cap  and  all.  There 
was  plenty  of  room  for  it  now,  for  the 
roof  was  off. 

"  Sorry  to  incommode  you,"  said 
their  visitor,  ironically.  "  I'm  afraid 
your  beds  are  dampish;  perhaps  you 
had  better  go  to  your  brother's  room: 
I've  left  the  ceiling  on,  there." 

They  required  no  second  admoni- 
32 


the  Golden  River  H£ 

tion,  but  rushed  into  Gluck's  room,  wet 
through,  and  in  an  agony  of  terror. 

"  You'll  find  my  card  on  the  kitchen 
table,"  the  old  gentleman  called  after 
them.  "  Remember,  the  last  visit." 

"Pray  Heaven  it  may!"  said 
Schwartz,  shuddering.  And  the  foam 
globe  disappeared. 

Dawn  came  at  last,  and  the  two 
brothers  looked  out  of  Gluck's  little 
window  in  the  morning.  The  Treas- 
ure Valley  was  one  mass  of  ruin  and 
desolation.  The  inundation  had  swept 
away  trees,  crops,  and  cattle,  and  left 
in  their  stead  a  waste  of  red  sand  and 
gray  mud.  The  two  brothers  crept 
shivering  and  horror-struck  into  the 
kitchen.  The  water  had  gutted  the 
whole  first  floor;  corn,  money,  almost 
every  movable  thing  had  been  swept 
33 


•SHThe  King  of 

away,  and  there  was  left  only  a  small, 
white  card  on  the  kitchen  table.  On 
it,  in  large,  breezy,  long-legged  letters, 
were  engraved  the  words : 


34 


the  Golden   River 


CHAPTER    II. 

OF  THE  PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  THREE 
BROTHERS  AFTER  THE  VISIT  OF 
SOUTHWEST  WIND,  ESQUIRE;  AND 
HOW  LITTLE  GLUCK  HAD  AN  IN- 
TERVIEW WITH  THE  KlNG  OF  THE 

GOLDEN  RIVER 

gOUTHWEST  WIND,  Esquire, 
was  as  good  as  his  word.  After  the 
momentous  visit  above  related,  he  en- 
tered the  Treasure  Valley  no  more; 
and,  what  was  worse,  he  had  so  much 
influence  with  his  relations,  the  West 
Winds  in  general,  and  used  it  so  effect- 
ually, that  they  all  adopted  a  similar 
line  of  conduct.  So  no  rain  fell  in  the 
35 


•SHThe  King  of 

valley  from  one  year's  end  to  another. 
Though  everything  remained  green  and 
flourishing  in  the  plains  below,  the  in- 
heritance of  the  Three  Brothers  was 
a  desert.  What  had  once  been  the 
richest  soil  in  the  kingdom  became  a 
shifting  heap  of  red  sand;  and  the 
brothers,  unable  longer  to  contend  with 
the  adverse  skies,  abandoned  their  value- 
less patrimony  in  despair,  to  seek  some 
means  of  gaining  a  livelihood  among 
the  cities  and  people  of  the  plains.  All 
their  money  was  gone,  and  they  had 
nothing  left  but  some  curious  old- 
fashioned  pieces  of  gold  plate,  the  last 
remnants  of  their  ill-gotten  wealth. 

"  Suppose  we  turn  goldsmiths?  "   said 

Schwartz  to  Hans,  as  they  entered  the 

large  city.    "  It  is  a  good  knave's  trade ; 

we  can  put  a  great  deal  of  copper  into 

36 


the  Golden  River  HS- 

the  gold,  without  any  one's  finding  it 
out." 

The  thought  was  agreed  to  be  a  very 
good  one;  they  hired  a  furnace,  and 
turned  goldsmiths.  But  two  slight 
circumstances  affected  their  trade:  the 
first,  that  people  did  not  approve  of  the 
coppered  gold;  the  second,  that  the 
two  elder  brothers,  whenever  they  had 
sold  anything,  used  to  leave  little  Gluck 
to  mind  the  furnace,  and  go  and  drink 
out  the  money  in  the  ale-house  next 
door.  So  they  melted  all  their  gold, 
without  making  money  enough  to  buy 
more,  and  were  at  last  reduced  to  one 
large  drinking-mug,  which  an  uncle  of 
his  had  given  to  little  Gluck,  and  which 
he  was  very  fond  of,  and  would  not  have 
parted  with  for  the  world;  though  he 
never  drank  anything  out  of  it  but  milk 
37 


King  of 


and  water.  The  mug  was  a  very  odd 
mug  to  look  at.  The  handle  was 
formed  of  two  wreaths  of  flowing 
golden  hair,  so  finely  spun  that  it  looked 
more  like  silk  than  metal,  and  these 
wreaths  descended  into,  and  mixed  with, 
a  beard  and  whiskers  of  the  same  ex- 
quisite workmanship,  which  surrounded 
and  decorated  a  very  fierce  little  face,  of 
the  reddest  gold  imaginable,  right  in  the 
front  of  the  mug,  with  a  pair  of  eyes  in 
it  which  seemed  to  command  its  whole 
circumference.  It  was  impossible  to 
drink  out  of  the  mug  without  being  sub- 
jected to  an  intense  gaze  out  of  the  side 
of  these  eyes;  and  Schwartz  positively 
averred,  that  once,  after  emptying  it, 
full  of  Rhenish,  seventeen  times,  he  had 
seen  them  wink!  When  it  came  to  the 
mug's  turn  to  be  made  into  spoons,  it 
38 


the  Golden  River  Hf 

half  broke  poor  little  Gluck's  heart ;  but 
the  brothers  only  laughed  at  him,  tossed 
the  mug  into  the  melting-pot,  and  stag- 
gered out  to  the  ale-house;  leaving  him, 
as  usual,  to  pour  the  gold  into  bars, 
when  it  was  all  ready. 

When  they  were  gone,  Gluck  took  a 
farewell  look  at  his  old  friend  in  the 
melting-pot.  The  flowing  hair  was  all 
gone;  nothing  remained  but  the  red 
nose  and  the  sparkling  eyes,  which 
looked  more  malicious  than  ever. 
"  And  no  wonder,"  thought  Gluck, 
"  after  being  treated  in  that  way."  He 
sauntered  disconsolately  to  the  win- 
dow, and  sat  himself  down  to  catch  the 
fresh  evening  air,  and  escape  the  hot 
breath  of  the  furnace.  Now  this  win- 
dow commanded  a  direct  view  of  the 
range  of  mountains,  which,  as  I  told  you 
39 


King  of 


before,  overhung  the  Treasure  Valley, 
and  more  especially  of  the  peak  from 
which  fell  the  Golden  River.  It  was 
just  at  the  close  of  the  day,  and,  when 
Gluck  sat  down  at  the  window,  he  saw 
the  rocks  of  the  mountain-tops  all  crim- 
son and  purple  with  the  sunset;  and 
there  were  bright  tongues  of  fiery  rloud 
burning  and  quivering  about  them;  and 
the  river,  brighter  than  all,  fell,  in  a 
waving  column  of  pure  gold,  from  preci- 
pice to  precipice,  with  the  double  arch 
of  a  broad  purple  rainbow  stretched 
across  it,  flushing  and  fading  alternately 
in  the  wreaths  of  spray. 

"Ah!"  said  Gluck  aloud,  after  he 
had  looked  at  it  for  awhile,  "  -if  that 
river  were  really  all  gold,  what  n  nice 
thing  it  would  be." 


40 


the   Golden   River  Hr 

"  No,  it  wouldn't,  Gluck,"  said  a 
clear  metallic  voice,  close  at  his  ear. 

"  Bless  me,  what's  that  ?  "  exclaimed 
Gluck,  jumping  up.  There  was  nobody 
there.  He  looked  round  the  room,  and 
under  the  table,  and  a  great  many  times 
behind  him,  but  there  was  certainly  no- 
body there,  and  he  sat  down  again  at 
the  window.  This  time  he  didn't  speak, 
but  he  couldn't  help  thinking  again  that 
it  would  be  very  convenient  if  the  river 
were  really  all  gold. 

"  Not  at  all,  my  boy,"  said  the  same 
voice,  louder  than  before. 

"Bless  me!"  said  Gluck  again, 
"  what  is  that?  "  He  looked  again  into 
all  the  corners,  and  cupboards,  and  then 
began  turning  round  and  round,  as  fast 
as  he  could  in  the  middle  of  the  room, 
thinking  there  was  somebody  behind 


King  of 


him,  when  the  same  voice  struck  again 
on  his  ear.  It  was  singing  now  very 
merrily  "  Lala-lira-la  ;  "  no  words,  only 
a  soft  running,  effervescent  melody, 
something  like  that  of  a  kettle  on  the 
boil.  Gluck  looked  out  of  the  window. 
No,  it  was  certainly  in  the  house.  Up- 
stairs and  down-stairs.  No,  it  was  cer- 
tainly in  that  very  room,  coming  in 
quicker  time,  and  clearer  notes,  every 
moment.  "  Lala-lira-la."  All  at  once 
it  struck  Gluck  that  it  sounded  louder 
near  the  furnace.  He  ran  to  the  open- 
ing and  looked  in:  yes,  he  saw  right,  it 
seemed  to  be  coming,  not  only  out  of  the 
furnace,  but  out  of  the  pot.  He  uncov- 
ered it,  and  ran  back  in  a  great  fright, 
for  the  pot  was  certainly  singing!  He 
stood  in  the  farthest  corner  of  the  room, 
with  his  hands  up,  and  his  mouth  open, 
42 


the  Golden   River  ^ 

for  a  minute  or  two,  when  the  singing 
stopped,  and  the  voice  became  clear  and 
pronunciative. 

"  Hollo!  "  said  the  voice. 

Gluck  made  no  answer. 

"Hollo!  Gluck,  my  boy,"  said  the 
pot  again. 

Gluck  summoned  all  his  energies, 
walked  straight  up  to  the  crucible, 
drew  it  out  of  the  furnace,  and  looked 
in.  The  gold  was  all  melted,  and  its 
surface  as  smooth  and  polished  as  a 
river;  but  instead  of  reflecting  little 
Gluck's  head,  as  he  looked  in,  he  saw, 
meeting  his  glance  from  beneath  the 
gold,  the  red  nose  and  sharp  eyes  of  his 
old  friend  of  the  mug,  a  thousand  times 
redder  and  sharper  than  ever  he  had 
seen  them  in  his  life. 

"  Come,  Gluck,  my  boy,"  said  the 
43 


•SHThe  King  of 

voice  out  of  the  pot  again,  "  I'm  all 
right;  pour  me  out." 

But  Gluck  was  too  much  astonished 
to  do  anything  of  the  kind. 

"  Pour  me  out,  I  say,"  said  the 
voice,  rather  gruffly. 

Still  Gluck  couldn't  move. 

"Will  you  pour  me  out?"  said  the 
voice,  passionately,  "  I'm  too  hot." 

By  a  violent  effort,  Gluck  recovered 
the  use  of  his  limbs,  took  hold  of  the 
crucible,  and  sloped  it,  so  as  to  pour  out 
the  gold.  But  instead  of  a  liquid 
stream,  there  came  out,  first,  a  pair  of 
pretty  little  yellow  legs,  then  some  coat- 
tails,  then  a  pair  of  arms  stuck  akimbo, 
and,  finally,  the  well-known  head  of  his 
friend  the  mug;  all  which  articles,  unit- 
ing as  they  rolled  out,  stood  up  energet- 
ically on  the  floor,  in  the  shape  of  a 
44 


the  Golden  River  Hf 

little  golden  dwarf,  about  a  foot  and  a 
half  high. 

"That's  right!"  said  the  dwarf, 
stretching  out  first  his  legs,  and  then  his 
arms,  and  then  shaking  his  head  up  and 
down,  and  as  far  around  as  it  would  go, 
for  five  minutes,  without  stopping;  ap- 
parently with  the  view  of  ascertaining 
if  he  were  quite  correctly  put  together, 
while  Gluck  stood  contemplating  him  in 
speechless  amazement.  He  was  dressed 
in  a  slashed  doublet  of  spun  gold,  so  fine 
in  its  texture  that  the  prismatic  colours 
gleamed  over  it  as  if  on  a  surface  of 
mother-of-pearl ;  and,  over  this  brilliant 
doublet,  his  hair  and  beard  fell  full  half- 
way to  the  ground,  in  waving  curls,  so 
exquisitely  delicate  that  Gluck  could 
hardly  tell  where  they  ended;  they 
seemed  to  melt  into  air.  The  features 
45 


•SH  The  King  of 

of  the  face,  however,  were  by  no  means 
finished  with  the  same  delicacy;  they 
were  rather  coarse,  slightly  inclining  to 
coppery  in  complexion,  and  indicative, 
in  expression,  of  a  very  pertinacious  and 
intractable  disposition  in  their  small 
proprietor.  .  When  the  dwarf  had  fin- 
ished his  self-examination,  he  turned  his 
small  sharp  eyes  full  on  Gluck,  and 
stared  at  him  deliberately  for  a  minute 
or  two.  "  No,  it  wouldn't,  Gluck,  my 
boy,"  said  the  little  man. 

This  was  certainly  rather  an  abrupt 
and  unconnected  mode  of  commencing 
conversation.  It  might  indeed  be  sup- 
posed to  refer  to  the  course  of  Gluck's 
thoughts,  which  had  first  produced  the 
dwarf's  observations  out  of  the  pot ;  but 
whatever  it  referred  to,  Gluck  had  no 
inclination  to  dispute  the  dictum. 
46 


the  Golden  River  H£ 

"Wouldn't  it,  sir?"  said  Gluck, 
very  mildly  and  submissively  indeed. 

"  No,"  said  the  dwarf,  conclusively. 
"  No,  it  wouldn't."  And  with  that, 
the  dwarf  pulled  his  cap  hard  over  his 
brows,  and  took  two  turns,  of  three  feet 
long,  up  and  down  the  room,  lifting  his 
legs  up  very  high,  and  setting  them 
down  very  hard.  This  pause  gave  time 
for  Gluck  to  collect  his  thoughts  a  lit- 
tle, and,  seeing  no  great  reason  to  view 
his  diminutive  visitor  with  dread,  and 
feeling  his  curiosity  overcome  his  amaze- 
ment, he  ventured  on  a  question  of  pe- 
culiar delicacy. 

"  Pray,  sir,"  said  Gluck,  rather  hesi- 
tatingly, "  were  you  my  mug?  " 

On  which  the  little  man  turned  sharp 
round,  walked  straight  up  to  Gluck, 
and  drew  himself  up  to  his  full  height. 
47 


iNThe  King  of 

"  I,"  said  the  little  man,  "  am  the  King 
of  the  Golden  River."  Whereupon  he 
turned  about  again,  and  took  two  more 
turns,  some  six  feet  long,  in  order  to 
allow  time  for  the  consternation  which 
this  announcement  produced  in  his 
auditor  to  evaporate.  After  which,  he 
again  walked  up  to  Gluck  and  stood 
still,  as  if  expecting  some  comment  on 
his  communication. 

Gluck  determined  to  say  something 
at  all  events.  "  I  hope  your  Majesty 
is  very  well,"  said  Gluck. 

"  Listen !  "  said  the  little  man,  deign- 
ing no  reply  to  this  polite  inquiry.  "  I 
am  the  King  of  what  you  mortals  call 
the  Golden  River.  The  shape  you  saw 
me  in  was  owing  to  the  malice  of  a 
stronger  King,  from  whose  enchant- 
ments you  have  this  instant  freed  me. 
48 


the  Golden  River  H£ 

What  I  have  seen  of  you,  and  your 
conduct  to  your  wicked  brothers,  ren- 
ders me  willing  to  serve  you;  there- 
fore, attend  to  what  I  tell  you.  Who- 
ever shall  climb  to  the  top  of  that  moun- 
tain, from  which  you  see  the  Golden 
River  issue,  and  shall  cast  into  the 
stream  at  its  source  three  drops  of  holy 
water,  for  him,  and  for  him  only,  the 
river  shall  turn  to  gold.  But  no  one 
failing  in  his  first,  can  succeed  in  a  sec- 
ond attempt;  and  if  any  one  shall  cast 
unholy  water  into  the  river,  it  will  over- 
whelm him,  and  he  will  become  a  black 
stone."  So  saying,  the  King  of  the 
Golden  River  turned  away,  and  delib- 
erately walked  into  the  centre  of  the 
hottest  flame  of  the  furnace.  His  figure 
became  red,  white,  transparent,  daz- 
zling —  a  blaze  of  intense  light  —  rose, 
49 


$H  The  King  of 

trembled,  and  disappeared.     The  King 
of  the  Golden  River  had  evaporated. 

"Oh!"  cried  poor  Gluck,  running 
to  look  up  the  chimney  after  him; 
"oh,  dear,  dear,  dear  me!  My  mug! 
my  mug!  my  mug!" 


the  Golden   River 


CHAPTER    III. 

How  MR.  HANS  SET  OFF  ON  AN 
EXPEDITION  TO  THE  GOLDEN  RIVER, 
AND  How  HE  PROSPERED  THEREIN 

'"THE  King  of  the  Golden  River  had 
hardly  made  the  extraordinary 
exit  related  in  the  last  chapter,  before 
Hans  and  Schwartz  came  roaring  into 
the  house,  very  savagely  drunk.  The 
discovery  of  the  total  loss  of  their  last 
piece  of  plate  had  the  effect  of  sobering 
them  just  enough  to  enable  them  to 
stand  over  Gluck,  beating  him  very 
steadily  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour;  at 
the  expiration  of  which  period  they 
dropped  into  a  couple  of  chairs,  and  re- 
s' 


•EH  The  King  of 

quested  to  know  what  he  had  got  to 
say  for  himself.  Gluck  told  them  his 
story,  of  which,  of  course,  they  did  not 
believe  a  word.  They  beat  him  again, 
till  their  arms  were  tired,  and  staggered 
to  bed.  In  the  morning,  however,  the 
steadiness  with  which  he  adhered  to  his 
story  obtained  for  him  some  degree  of 
credence;  the  immediate  consequence 
of  which  was,  that  the  two  brothers, 
after  wrangling  a  long  time  on  the 
knotty  question,  which  of  them  should 
try  his  fortune  first,  drew  their  swords 
and  began  fighting.  The  noise  of  the 
fray  alarmed  the  neighbours,  who,  find- 
ing they  could  not  pacify  the  com- 
batants, sent  for  the  constable. 

Hans,   on   hearing  this,   contrived   to 
escape,  and  hid  himself;    but  Schwartz 
was  taken   before  the  magistrate,   fined 
52 


the  Golden   River  ^ 

for  breaking  the  peace,  and,  having 
drunk  out  his  last  penny  the  evening 
before,  was  thrown  into  prison  till  he 
should  pay. 

When  Hans  heard  this,  he  was  much 
delighted,  and  determined  to  set  out 
immediately  for  the  Golden  River. 
How  to  get  the  holy  water  was  the 
question.  He  went  to  the  priest,  but 
the  priest  could  not  give  any  holy 
water  to  so  abandoned  a  character.  So 
Hans  went  to  vespers  in  the  evening 
for  the  first  time  in  his  life,  and,  under 
pretence  of  crossing  himself,  stole  a  cup- 
ful, and  returned  home  in  triumph. 

Next  morning  he  got  up  before  the 
sun  rose,  put  the  holy  water  into  a 
strong  flask,  and  two  bottles  of  wine 
and  some  meat  in  a  basket,  slung  them 


S3 


3H  The  King  of 

over  his  back,  took  his  alpine  staff  in 
his  hand,  and  set  off  for  the  mountains. 

On  his  way  out  of  the  town  he  had 
to  pass  the  prison,  and  as  he  looked  in 
at  the  windows,  whom  should  he  see 
but  Schwartz  himself  peeping  out  of  the 
bars,  and  looking  very  disconsolate. 

"  Good  morning,  brother,"  said 
Hans ;  "  have  you  any  message  for  the 
King  of  the  Golden  River?" 

Schwartz  gnashed  his  teeth  with  rage, 
and  shook  the  bars  with  all  his  strength ; 
but  Hans  only  laughed  at  him,  and  ad- 
vising him  to  make  himself  comfortable 
till  he  came  back  again,  shouldered  his 
basket,  shook  the  bottle  of  holy  water 
in  Schwartz's  face  till  it  frothed  again, 
and  marched  off  in  the  highest  spirits 
in  the  world. 

It  was,  indeed,  a  morning  that  might 
54 


the  Golden  River  & 

have  made  any  one  happy,  even  with  no 
Golden  Ri\  cr  to  seek  for.  Level  lines 
of  dewy  mist  lay  stretched  along  the 
valley,  out  of  which  rose  the  massy 
mountains  —  their  lower  cliffs  in  pale 
gray  shadow,  hardly  distinguishable 
from  the  floating  vapour,  but  gradually 
ascending  till  they  caught  the  sunlight, 
which  ran  in  sharp  touches  of  ruddy 
colour  along  the  angular  crags,  and 
pierced,  in  long  level  rays,  through  their 
fringes  of  spear-like  pine.  Far  above, 
shot  up  red  splintered  masses  of  cas- 
tellated rock,  jagged  and  shivered  into 
myriads  of  fantastic  forms,  with  here 
and  there  a  streak  of  sunlit  snow, 
traced  down  their  chasms  like  a  line 
of  forked  lightning;  and,  far  beyond, 
and  far  above  all  these,  fainter  than 
the  morning  cloud,  but  purer  and 
55 


•SHThe  King  of 

changeless,  slept,  in  the  blue  sky,  the 
utmost  peaks  of  the  eternal  snow. 

The  Golden  River,  which  sprang 
from  one  of  the  lower  and  snowless 
elevations,  was  now  nearly  in  shadow ; 
all  but  the  uppermost  jets  of  spray, 
which  rose  like  slow  smoke  above  the 
undulating  line  of  the  cataract,  and 
floated  away  in  feeble  wreaths  upon 
the  morning  wind. 

On  this  object,  and  on  this  alone, 
Hans's  eyes  and  thoughts  were  fixed; 
forgetting  the  distance  he  had  to  trav- 
erse, he  set  off  at  an  imprudent  rate  of 
walking,  which  greatly  exhausted  him 
before  he  had  scaled  the  first  range  of 
the  green  and  low  hills.  He  was,  more- 
over, surprised,  on  surmounting  them, 
to  find  that  a  large  glacier,  of  whose  ex- 
istence, notwithstanding  his  previous 
56 


the  Golden   River  Hr 

knowledge  of  the  mountains,  he  had 
been  absolutely  ignorant,  lay  between 
him  and  the  source  of  the  Golden  River. 
He  entered  on  it  with  the  boldness  of  a 
practised  mountaineer;  yet  he  thought 
he  had  never  traversed  so  strange  or 
so  dangerous  a  glacier  in  his  life.  The 
ice  was  excessive  slippery,  and  out 
of  all  its  chasms  came  wild  sounds  of 
gushing  water;  not  monotonous  or  low, 
but  changeful  and  loud,  rising  occa- 
sionally into  drifting  passages  of  wild 
melody,  then  breaking  off  into  short 
melancholy  tones,  or  sudden  shrieks, 
resembling  those  of  human  voices  in 
distress  or  pain.  The  ice  was  broken 
into  thousands  of  confused  shapes,  but 
none,  Hans  thought,  like  the  ordinary 
forms  of  splintered  ice.  There  seemed 
a  curious  expression  about  all  their  out- 
57 


King  of 


lines  —  a  perpetual  resemblance  to 
living  features,  distorted  and  scornful. 
Myriads  of  deceitful  shadows,  and  lurid 
lights,  played  and  floated  about  and 
through  the  pale  blue  pinnacles,  daz- 
zling and  confusing  the  sight  of  the 
traveller;  while  his  ears  grew  dull  and 
his  head  giddy  with  the  constant  gush 
and  roar  of  the  concealed  waters. 
These  painful  circumstances  increased 
upon  him  as  he  advanced  ;  the  ice 
crashed  and  yawned  into  fresh  chasms 
at  his  feet,  tottering  spires  nodded 
around  him,  and  fell  thundering  across 
his  path;  and  though  he  had  repeat- 
edly faced  these  dangers  on  the  most 
terrific  glaciers,  and  in  the  wildest 
weather,  it  was  with  a  new  and  oppress- 
ive feeling  of  panic  that  he  leaped  the 
last  chasm,  and  flung  himself,  exhausted 
58 


the  Golden   River  H£ 

and  shuddering,  on  the  firm  turf  of  the 
mountain. 

He  had  been  compelled  to  abandon 
his  basket  of  food,  which  became  a  peril- 
ous encumbrance  on  the  glacier,  and 
had  now  no  means  of  refreshing  him- 
self but  by  breaking  off  and  eating  some 
of  the  pieces  of  ice.  This,  however,  re- 
lieved his  thirst;  an  hour's  repose  re- 
cruited his  hardy  frame,  and  with  the 
'indomitable  spirit  of  avarice  he  resumed 
his  laborious  journey. 

His  way  now  lay  straight  up  a  ridge 
of  bare  red  rocks,  without  a  blade  of 
grass  to  ease  the  foot,  or  a  projecting 
angle  to  afford  an  inch  of  shade  from 
the  south  sun.  It  was  past  noon,  and 
the  rays  beat  intensely  upon  the  steep 
path,  while  the  whole  atmosphere  was 
motionless,  and  penetrated  with  heat. 
59 


•SH  The  King  of 

Intense  thirst  was  soon  added  to  the 
bodily  fatigue  with  which  Hans  was 
now  afflicted;  glance  after  glance  he 
cast  on  the  flask  of  water  which  hung 
at  his  belt.  "  Three  drops  are  enough," 
at  last  thought  he;  "I  may,  at  least, 
cool  my  lips  with  it." 

He  opened  the  flask,  and  was  rais- 
ing it  to  his  lips,  when  his  eye  fell  on 
an  object  lying  on  the  rock  beside  him; 
he  thought  it  moved.  It  was  a  small 
dog,  apparently  in  the  last  agony  of 
death  from  thirst.  Its  tongue  was  out, 
its  jaws  dry,  its  limbs  extended  life- 
lessly, and  a  swarm  of  black  ants  were 
crawling  about  its  lips  and  throat.  Its 
eye  moved  to  the  bottle  which  Hans 
held  in  his  hand.  He  raised  it,  drank, 
spurned  the  animal  with  his  foot,  and 
passed  on.  And  he  did  not  know  how  it 
60 


the  Golden   River  HS- 

was,  but  he  thought  that  a  strange 
shadow  had  suddenly  come  across  the 
blue  sky. 

The  path  became  steeper  and  more 
rugged  every  moment ;  and  the  high  hill 
air,  instead  of  refreshing  him,  seemed 
to  throw  his  blood  into  a  fever.  The 
noise  of  the  hill  cataracts  sounded  like 
mockery  in  his  ears;  they  were  all  dis- 
tant, and  his  thirst  increased  every 
moment.  Another  hour  passed,  and  he 
again  looked  down  to  the  flask  at  his 
side;  it  was  half  empty;  but  there 
was  much  more  than  three  drops  in  it. 
He  stopped  to  open  it,  and  again,  as  he 
did  so,  something  moved  in  the  path 
above  him.  It  was  a  fair  child, 
stretched  nearly  lifeless  on  the  rock,  its 
breast  heaving  with  thirst,  its  eyes 
closed,  and  its  lips  parched  and  burn- 
61 


•SHThe   King  of 

ing.  Hans  eyed  it  deliberately,  drank, 
and  passed  on.  And  a  dark  gray  cloud 
came  over  the  sun,  and  long,  snake-like 
shadows  crept  up  along  the  mountain- 
sides. Hans  struggled  on.  The  sun 
was  sinking,  but  its  descent  seemed  to 
bring  no  coolness;  the  leaden  weight 
of  the  dead  air  pressed  upon  his  brow 
and  heart,  but  the  goal  was  near.  He 
saw  the  cataract  of  the  Golden  River 
springing  from  the  hillside,  scarcely 
five  hundred  feet  above  him.  He 
paused  for  a  moment  to  breathe,  and 
sprang  on  to  complete  his  task. 

At  this  instant  a  faint  cry  fell  on  his 
ear.  He  turned,  and  saw  a  gray-haired 
old  man  extended  on  the  rocks.  His 
eyes  were  sunk,  his  features  deadly  pale, 
and  gathered  into  an  expression  of  de- 
spair. "Water!"  he  stretched  his. 
62 


the  Golden   River  ^ 

arms  to  Hans,  and  cried  feebly: 
"  Water !  I  am  dying." 

"  I  have  none,"  replied  Hans;  "  thou 
hast  had  thy  share  of  life."  He  strode 
over  the  prostrate  body,  and  darted  on. 
And  a  flash  of  blue  lightning  rose  out 
of  the  east,  shaped  like  a  sword;  it 
shook  thrice  over  the  whole  heaven,  and 
left  it  dark  with  one  heavy,  impene- 
trable shade.  The  sun  was  setting;  it 
plunged  toward  the  horizon  like  a  red- 
hot  ball. 

The  roar  of  the  Golden  River  rose  on 
Hans's  ear.  He  stood  at  the  brink  of 
the  chasm  through  which  it  ran.  Its 
waves  were  filled  with  the  red  glory  of 
the  sunset:  they  shook  their  crests  like 
tongues  of  fire,  and  flashes  of  bloodv 
light  gleamed  along  their  foam.  Their 
sound  became  mightier  and  mightier  on 
63 


•SHThe  King  of 

his  senses;  his  brain  grew  giddy  with 
the  prolonged  thunder.  Shuddering,  he 
drew  the  flask  from  his  girdle,  and 
hurled  it  into  the  centre  of  the  torrent. 
As  he  did  so,  an  icy  chill  shot  through 
his  limbs;  he  staggered,  shrieked,  and 
fell.  The  waters  closed  over  his  cry. 
And  the  moaning  of  the  river  rose 
wildly  into  the  night,  as  it  gushed  over 

THE  BLACK  STONE. 


the  Golden  River 


CHAPTER   IV. 

How  MR.  SCHWARTZ  SET  OFF  ON  AN 
EXPEDITION  TO  THE  GOLDEN  RIVER, 
AND  How  HE  PROSPERED  THEREIN 

OOOR  little  Gluck  waited  very  anx- 
iously alone  in  the  house  for  Hans's 
return.  Finding  he  did  not  come  back, 
he  was  terribly  frightened,  and  went 
and  told  Schwartz  in  the  prison  all  that 
had  happened.  Then  Schwartz  was 
very  much  pleased,  and  said  that  Hans 
must  certainly  have  been  turned  into  a 
black  stone,  and  he  should  have  all  the 
gold  to  himself.  But  Gluck  was  very 
sorry,  and  cried  all  night.  When  he 
65 


King  of 


got  up  in  the  morning,  there  was  no 
bread  in  the  house,  nor  any  money:  so 
Gluck  went  and  hired  himself  to  an- 
other goldsmith,  and  he  worked  so  hard, 
and  so  neatly,  and  so  long  every  day, 
that  he  soon  got  money  enough  together 
to  pay  his  brother's  fine,  and  he  went 
and  gave  it  all  to  Schwartz,  and 
Schwartz  got  out  of  prison.  Then 
Schwartz  was  quite  pleased,  and  said 
he  should  have  some  of  the  gold  of  the 
river.  But  Gluck  only  begged  he  would 
go  and  see  what  had  become  of  Hans. 

Now,  when  Schwartz  had  heard 
that  Hans  had  stolen  the  holy  water, 
he  thought  to  himself  that  such  a  pro- 
ceeding might  not  be  considered  alto- 
gether correct  by  the  King  of  the  Golden 
River,  and  determined  to  manage  mat- 
ters better.  So  he  took  some  more 
66 


the  Golden   River  H£ 

of  Gluck's  money,  and  went  to  a  bad 
priest,  who  gave  him  some  holy  water 
very  readily  for  it.  Then  Schwartz 
wTas  sure  it  was  all  quite  right.  So 
Schwartz  got  up  early  in  the  morning, 
before  the  sun  rose,  and  took  some 
bread  and  wine  in  a  basket,  and  put 
his  holy  water  in  a  flask,  and  set  off  for 
the  mountains.  Like  his  brother,  he 
was  much  surprised  at  sight  of  the 
glacier,  and  had  great  difficulty  in 
crossing  it,  even  after  leaving  his  basket 
behind  him.  The  day  was  cloudless, 
but  not  bright:  there  was  a  heavy 
purple  haze  hanging  over  the  sky,  and 
the  hills  looked  lowering  and  gloomy. 
And  as  Schwartz  climbed  the  steep  rock 
path,  the  thirst  came  upon  him,  as  it  had 
upon  his  brother,  until  he  lifted  his 
flask  to  his  lips  to  drink.  Then  he  saw 
6? 


3H  The  King  of 

the  fair  child  lying  near  him  on  the 
rocks,  and  it  cried  to  him,  and  moaned 
for  water.  "  Water,  indeed,"  said 
Schwartz;  "I  haven't  half  enough  for 
myself,"  and  passed  on.  And  as  he  went 
he  thought  the  sunbeams  grew  more 
dim,  and  he  saw  a  low  bank  of  black 
cloud  rising  out  of  the  west ;  and  when 
he  had  climbed  for  another  hour  the 
thirst  overcame  him  again,  and  he 
would  have  drunk.  Then  he  saw  the 
old  man  lying  before  him  on  the  path, 
and  heard  him  cry  out  for  water. 
"Water,  indeed,"  said  Schwartz;  "I 
haven't  half  enough  for  myself,"  and  on 
he  went. 

Then  again  the  light  seemed  to  fade 

from  before  his  eyes,  and  he  looked  up, 

and  behold,  a    mist,    of  the    colour  of 

blood,  had  come  over  the  sun;  and  the 

68 


the  Golden  River  ^ 

bank  of  black  cloud  had  risen  very  high, 
and  its  edges  were  tossing  and  tumbling 
like  the  waves  of  the  angry  sea.  And 
they  cast  long  shadows,  which  flickered 
over  Schwartz's  path. 

Then  Schwartz  climbed  for  another 
hour,  and  again  his  thirst  returned ;  and 
as  he  lifted  his  flask  to  his  lips,  he 
thought  he  saw  his  brother  Hans  lying 
exhausted  on  the  path  before  him,  and, 
as  he  gazed,  the  figure  stretched  its  arms 
to  him,  and  cried  for  water.  "  Ha,  ha," 
laughed  Schwartz,  "  are  you  there?  re- 
member the  prison  bars,  my  boy. 
Water,  indeed!  do  you  suppose  I  car- 
ried it  all  the  way  up  here  for  you?" 
And  he  strode  over  the  figure;  yet,  as 
he  passed,  he  thought  he  saw  a  strange 
expression  of  mockery  about  its  lips. 
And,  when  he  had  gone  a  few  yards 
69 


*H  The  King  of 

farther,  he  looked  back;    but  the  figure 
was  not  there. 

And  a  sudden  horror  came  over 
Schwartz,  he  knew  not  why;  but  the 
thirst  for  gold  prevailed  over  his  fear, 
and  he  rushed  on.  And  the  bank  of 
black  cloud  rose  to  the  zenith,  and  out 
of  it  came  bursts  of  spiry  lightning,  and 
waves  of  darkness  seemed  to  heave  and 
float  between  their  flashes,  over  the 
whole  heavens.  And  the  sky,  where  the 
sun  was  setting,  was  all  level,  and  like 
a  lake  of  blood;  and  a  strong  wind 
came  out  of  that  sky,  tearing  its  crimson 
clouds  into  fragments,  and  scattering 
them  far  into  the  darkness.  And,  when 
Schwartz  stood  by  the  brink  of  the 
Golden  River,  its  waves  were  black, 
like  thunder-clouds,  but  their  foam  was 
like  fire ;  and  the  roar  of  the  waters  be- 
70 


the  Golden  River  & 

low  and  the  thunder  above  met,  as  he 
cast  the  flask  into  the  stream.  And,  as 
he  did  so,  the  lightning  glared  in  his 
eyes,  and  the  earth  gave  way  beneath 
him,  and  the  waters  closed  over  his  cry. 
And  the  moaning  of  the  river  rose 
wildly  into  the  night,  as  it  gushed  over 
the 

Two  BLACK  STONES. 


The  King  of 


CHAPTER  V. 

How  LITTLE  GLUCK  SET  OFF  ON  AN 
EXPEDITION  TO  THE  GOLDEN  RIVER, 
AND  How  HE  PROSPERED  THEREIN; 
WITH  OTHER  MATTERS  OF  INTER- 
EST 

HEN  Gluck  found  that  Schwartz 
did  not  come  back,  he  was  very 
sorry,  and  did  not  know  what  to  do. 
He  had  no  money,  and  was  obliged  to 
go  and  hire  himself  again  to  the  gold- 
smith, who  worked  him  very  hard,  and 
gave  him  very  little  money.  So,  after  a 
month  or  two,  Gluck  grew  tired,  and 
made  up  his  mind  to  go  and  try  his  for- 
tune with  the  Golden  River.  "  The  lit- 

r* 


the  Golden  River  H£ 

tie  king  looked  very  kind,"  thought  he. 
"  I  don't  think  he  will  turn  me  into  a 
black  stone."  So  he  went  to  the  priest, 
and  the  priest  gave  him  some  holy  water 
as  soon  as  he  asked  for  it.  Then  Gluck 
took  some  bread  in  his  basket,  and  the 
bottle  of  water,  and  set  off  very  early 
for  the  mountains. 

If  the  glacier  had  occasioned  a  great 
deal  of  fatigue  to  his  brothers,  it  was 
twenty  times  worse  for  him,  who  was 
neither  so  strong  nor  so  practised  on  the 
mountains.  He  had  several  very  bad 
falls,  lost  his  basket  and  bread,  and  was 
very  much  frightened  at  the  strange 
noises  under  the  ice.  He  lay  a  long  time 
to  rest  on  the  grass,  after  he  had  got 
over,  and  began  to  climb  the  hill  just  in 
the  hottest  part  of  the  day.  When  he 
had  climbed  for  an  hour,  he  got  dread- 
73 


3HThe  King  of 

fully  thirsty,  and  was  going  to  drink, 
like  his  brothers,  when  he  saw  an  old 
man  coming  down  the  path  above  him, 
looking  very  feeble,  and  leaning  on  a 
staff.  "  My  son,"  said  the  old  man,  "  I 
am  faint  with  thirst,  give  me  some  of 
that  water."  Then  Gluck  looked  at 
him,  and  when  he  saw  that  he  was  pale 
and  weary,  he  gave  him  water.  "  Only, 
pray,  don't  drink  it  all,"  said  Gluck. 
But  the  old  man  drank  a  great  deal,  and 
gave  him  back  the  bottle  two-thirds 
empty.  Then  he  bade  him  good  speed, 
and  Gluck  went  on  again  merrily.  And 
the  path  became  easier  to  his  feet,  and 
two  or  three  blades  of  grass  appeared 
upon  it,  and  some  grasshoppers  began 
singing  on  the  bank  beside  it;  and 
Gluck  thought  he  had  never  heard  such 
merry  singing. 

74 


the  Golden   River  H? 

Then  he  went  on  for  another  hour, 
and  the  thirst  increased  on  him  so  that 
he  thought  he  should  be  forced  to  drink. 
But,  as  he  raised  the  flask,  be  saw  a  lit- 
tle child  lying  panting  by  the  roadside, 
and  it  cried  out  piteously  for  water. 
Then  Gluck  struggled  with  himself,  and 
determined  to  bear  the  thirst  a  little 
longer;  and  he  put  the  bottle  to  the 
child's  lips,  and  it  drank  it  all  but  a  few 
drops.  Then  it  smiled  on  him,  and  got 
up,  and  ran  down  the  hill;  and  Gluck 
looked  after  it,  till  it  became  as  small 
as  a  little  star,  and  then  turned  and  be- 
gan climbing  again.  And  then  there 
were  all  kinds  of  sweet  flowers  grow- 
ing on  the  rocks,  bright  green  moss  with 
pale  pink  starry  flowers,  and  soft  belled 
gentians,  more  blue  than  the  sky  at  its 
deepest,  and  pure  white  transparent 

m 

75 


3H  The  King  of 

lilies.  And  crimson  and  purple  butter- 
flies darted  hither  and  thither,  and  the 
sky  sent  down  such  pure  light,  that 
Gluck  had  never  felt  so  happy  in  his 
life. 

Yet,  when  he  had  climbed  for  another 
hour,  his  thirst  became  intolerable  again ; 
and,  when  he  looked  at  his  bottle,  he 
saw  that  there  were  only  five  or  six 
drops  left  in  it,  and  he  could  not  ven- 
ture to  drink.  And,  as  he  was  hanging 
the  flask  to  his  belt  again,  he  saw  a  little 
dog  lying  on  the  rocks,  gasping  for 
breath  —  just  as  Hans  had  seen  it  on 
the  day  of  his  ascent.  And  Gluck 
stopped  and  looked  at  it,  and  then  at  the 
Golden  River,  not  five  hundred  yards 
above  him;  and  he  thought  of  the 
dwarf's  words,  "  that  no  one  could  suc- 
ceed, except  in  his  first  attempt;"  and 
76 


the  Golden   River  ^ 

he  tried  to  pass  the  dog,  but  it  whined 
piteously,  and  Gluck  stopped  again. 
"  Poor  beastie,"  said  Gluck,  "  it'll  be 
dead  when  I  come  down  again,  if  I  don't 
help  it."  Then  he  looked  closer  and 
closer  at  it,  and  its  eye  turned  on  him 
so  mournfully  that  he  could  not  stand 
it.  "  Confound  the  King,  and  his  gold 
too,"  said  Gluck;  and  he  opened  the 
flask,  and  poured  all  the  water  into  the 
dog's  mouth. 

The  dog  sprang  up  and  stood  on  its 
hind  legs.  Its  tail  disappeared,  its  ears 
became  long,  longer,  silky,  golden;  its 
nose  became  very  red,  its  eyes  became 
very  twinkling;  in  three  seconds  the 
dog  was  gone,  and  before  Gluck  stood 
his  old  acquaintance,  the  King  of  the 
Golden  River. 

"  Thank  you,"  said  the  monarch ; 
77 


King  of 


"  but  don't  be  frightened,  it's  all  right;" 
for  Gluck  showed  manifest  symptoms  of 
consternation  at  this  unlooked-for  reply 
to  his  last  observation.  "  Why  didn't 
you  come  before,"  continued  the  dwarf, 
"  instead  of  sending  me  those  rascally 
brothers  of  yours,  for  me  to  have  the 
trouble  of  turning  into  stones?  Very 
hard  stones  they  make  too." 

"Oh,  dear  me!"  said  Gluck,  "have 
you  really  been  so  cruel?  " 

"Cruel!"  said  the  dwarf,  "they 
poured  unholy  water  into  my  stream: 
do  you  suppose  I'm  going  to  allow 
that?" 

"Why,"  said  Gluck,  "I  am  sure, 
sir  —  your  Majesty,  I  mean  —  they  got 
the  water  out  of  the  church-font." 

"  Very  probably,"  replied  the  dwarf  ; 


78 


the  Golden    River  Hf 

"  but,"  and  his  countenance  grew  stern 
as  he  spoke,  "  the  water  which  has  been 
refused  to  the  cry  of  the  weary  and 
dying  is  unholy,  though  it  had  been 
blessed  by  every  saint  in  heaven;  and 
the  water  which  is  found  in  the  vessel  of 
mercy  is  holy,  though  it  had  been  defiled 
with  corpses." 

So  saying,  the  dwarf  stooped  and 
plucked  a  lily  that  grew  at  his  feet.  On 
its  white  leaves  there  hung  three  drops 
of  clear  dew.  And  the  dwarf  shook 
them  into  the  flask  which  Gluck  held 
in  his  hand.  "  Cast  these  into  the 
river,"  he  said,  "  and  descend  on  the 
other  side  of  the  mountains  into  the 
Treasure  Valley.  And  so  good  speed." 

As  he  spoke,  the  figure  of  the  dwarf 
became  indistinct.  The  playing  colours 


79 


•SHThe  King  of 

of  his  robe  formed  themselves  into  a 
prismatic  mist  of  dewy  light:  he  stood 
for  an  instant  veiled  with  them  as  with 
the  belt  of  a  broad  rainbow.  The 
colours  grew  faint,  the  mist  rose  into  the 
air;  the  monarch  had  evaporated. 

And  Gluck  climbed  to  the  brink  of 
the  Golden  River,  and  its  waves  were 
as  clear  as  crystal,  and  as  brilliant  as  the 
sun.  And,  when  he  cast  the  three 
drops  of  dew  into  the  stream,  there 
opened  where  they  fell  a  small  circular 
whirlpool,  into  which  the  waters  de- 
scended with  a  musical  noise. 

Gluck  stood  watching  it  for  some 
time,  very  much  disappointed,  because 
not  only  the  river  was  not  turned  into 
gold,  but  its  waters  seemed  much  dimin- 
ished in  quantity.  Yet  he  obeyed  his 


80 


the  Golden  River  H£ 

friend,  the  dwarf,  and  descended  the 
other  side  of  the  mountains,  toward  the 
Treasure  Valley;  and,  as  he  went,  he 
thought  he  heard  the  noise  of  water 
working  its  way  under  the  ground. 
And,  when  he  came  in  sight  of  the 
Treasure  Valley,  behold,  a  river,  like 
the  Golden  River,  was  springing  from  a 
new  cleft  of  the  rocks  above  it,  and  was 
flowing  in  innumerable  streams  among 
the  dry  heaps  of  red  sand. 

And  as  Gluck  gazed,  fresh  grass 
sprang  beside  the  new  streams,  and 
creeping  plants  grew,  and  climbed 
among  the  moistening  soil.  Young 
flowers  opened  suddenly  along  the 
riversides,  as  stars  leap  out  when  twi- 
light is  deepening,  and  thickets  of 
myrtle,  and  tendrils  of  vine,  cast  length- 
ening shadows  over  the  valley  as  they 
81 


King  of 


grew.  And  thus  the  Treasure  Valley 
became  a  garden  again,  and  the  inherit- 
ance which  had  been  lost  by  cruelty  was 
regained  by  love. 

And  Gluck  went  and  dwelt  in  the 
valley,  and  the  poor  were  never  driven 
from  his  door:  so  that  his  barns  be- 
came full  of  corn,  and  his  house  of  treas- 
ure. And,  for  him,  the  river  had,  ac- 
cording to  the  dwarf's  promise,  become 
a  River  of  Gold. 

And,  to  this  day,  the  inhabitants  of 
the  valley  point  out  the  place  where  the 
three  drops  of  holy  dew  were  cast  into 
the  stream,  and  trace  the  course  of  the 
Golden  River  under  the  ground,  until  it 
emerges  in  the  Treasure  Valley.  And 
at  the  top  of  the  cataract  of  the  Golden 
River  are  still  to  be  seen  two  BLACK 
STONES,  around  which  the  waters  howl 
82 


the  Golden  River  ^ 

mournfully  every  day  at  sunset;  and 
these  stones  are  still  called  by  the  people 
of  the  valley 

THE  BLACK  BROTHERS. 


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